Welfare fraud under $25,000 in California could be decriminalized due to Senate Bill 560, which was introduced by State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D) in February.
The bill would decriminalize welfare fraud under that amount in the state for administrative errors, Fox News reported on Monday.
According the outlet’s Bill Melugin, “Smallwood-Cuevas represents a large chunk of Los Angeles County, including Mar Vista, West LA, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Century City, Playa Vista, and part of downtown LA.,” he wrote in a social media post on Monday:
NEW: California Democrat state senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has introduced SB560, a bill that would decriminalize welfare fraud below an amount of $25,000. It would also prohibit prosecutions for attempted welfare fraud and would prohibit someone from being charged w/ perjury if… pic.twitter.com/nYnyfQm0vV
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 28, 2025
Smallwood-Cuevas told Fox the state’s safety net should help residents and not keep them in poverty. She also wrote in a recent social media post, “This bill is about keeping families out of the criminal justice system from making administrative errors on raising the threshold for welfare fraud prosecutions.”
The bill is set for a hearing on May 5. The Legislative Counsel’s Digest regarding the bill reads:
Existing law establishes criminal penalties for welfare fraud, defined as willfully and knowingly, with the intent to deceive, by specified means, including a false statement or representation, obtaining or retaining aid through designated public social services for oneself or for a child who is not in fact entitled thereto, as specified. Existing law makes any person who knowingly uses, transfers, sells, purchases, or possesses CalFresh or federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in any manner not authorized, as specified, guilty of a misdemeanor or felony depending on the face value of the benefits.This bill would delete the provision that establishes criminal penalties for an attempt to commit welfare fraud. The bill would delete criminal penalties for welfare fraud when the total amount of aid obtained or retained is above or below $950, and instead make welfare fraud when aid was obtained or retained in the total amount of $25,000 or more punishable by specified imprisonment in a county jail, by a fine, or by imprisonment and fine.
“In Los Angeles County, field investigators handle 15,000 to 20,000 fraud cases or referrals, according to the Department of Public Social Services,” Monday’s Fox article said.
Meanwhile, California has been issuing EBT cards with a security chip to prevent thieves from targeting people who rely on benefits programs, NBC San Diego reported on March 13:
But fraud investigators who work inside California’s county welfare offices said the card probably won’t make much of a dent. They said the state should have rolled out a security chip and tap-to-pay years ago, and that these new cards still contain technology outdated by several decades.
Over the last two full calendar years, San Diego County officials say criminals stole at least $34.6 million from EBT cards. Taxpayers then paid that money again, to reimburse the needy families they targeted.
News about the bill and EBT cards comes as the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been targeting welfare fraud, Breitbart News reported on March 19.
In addition, President Donald Trump’s administration has also been working to keep illegal aliens from using welfare programs meant for legal residents, per Breitbart News.
